Arrangement for inserting and removing of half-loom beams in a weaving machine

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for fitting and removing half-loom beams individually or in pairs into or out of a loom beam bearing of a loom with a loom beam lifting and transport carriage (10) having at least two bearing arms (20, 24). In order to be able to lay the half-loom beams (27) in and remove them from the loom beam bearing of the loom simply and smoothly both singly and in pairs, the invention has a circumferential groove (40) in a region of the half-loom beam projecting axially over a central bearing shell with the half-loom beams (27). The beam carriage (10) being fitted with a central bearer arm (24) having spaced bearing claws which can be inserted past the bearing shell (48) into the circumferential grooves (40) from beneath as far as the bases of the grooves (38).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an arrangement for inserting and removinghalf-loom beams into or out of a loom-beam bearing on a weaving machine,including a loom-beam lifting and transporting carriage having at leasttwo bearing arms, wherein the half-loom beams have at their one axialend a fixed plate and a disk projecting on the outside of the fixedplate and rigidly connected to same, and the loom-beam bearing has abearing shell to receive in pairs the disks of two half-loom beams,which disks face one another, and the bearing shell can be closed off bya, preferably swingable, bearing lid and is accessible radiallylaterally and/or from above through an edge opening for the half-loombeams provided on the bearing arms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a conventional device of this type (DE-C-3317607), a loom-beamlifting and transporting carriage has a center bearing arm havingbearing members placeable against the adjacent fixed plates of thehalf-loom beams, and a bearing hook gripping under the rings. Thebearing hook can be fixed with respect to the bearing shell of theweaving machine receiving the disk, and is arranged movablyperpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal length of the liftingand transporting carriage on the center bearing arm. The bearing hook isfixed by a nose arranged on its underside the nose being received by arecess of the extended bearing shell of the weaving machine duringlowering of the bearing hook, which lowering is done by pivoting thecenter bearing arm. Thus the loom-beam lifting and transporting carriageis positioned during insertion, first, to the fixation position of thecenter bearing arm outside of the bearing shell. From there, thehalf-loom beams are moved, by a spindle drive on the center bearing armwith the help of the bearing members, out of the bearing hook until theyfall beyond the bearing hook, edge into the bearing shell. Because ofthe high loom-beam mass, considerable mechanical stress is herebyapplied to the loom beam and the loom-beam bearing. The removal of thehalf-loom beams out of the weaving machine is possible with theconventional device, possibly with the help of crowbars, with which thehalf-loom beams are first placed onto the bearing hooks beyond theiredges. Because of the little space available in the area of the centerbearing between the two half-loom beams, a removal in pairs of thehalf-loom beams with a continuous thread chain is, however, notpossible. The warp threads must be cut off in this case and the loombeams must be removed individually, for example with the help of adump-type carriage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Starting out from this it is the object of the invention to develop adevice of the above-identified type which makes it possible to insertand again remove half-loom beams both individually and also in pairs ifnecessary, with continuous warp threads, simply and smoothly into andfrom the loom-beam bearing of a weaving machine.

The basic thought of the solution of the invention is to grip under thehalf-loom beams near their disk in such a manner that they can be placedcollision-free directly into the bearing shell and can be removedcollision-free therefrom. In order to make this possible, the inventionsuggests that a bearing surface, coaxial with respect to the disk, bearranged in an area between the disk and the fixed plate of thehalf-loom beams, which area projects axially over the bearing shell whenthe half-loom beams are inserted, and that at least one of the bearingarms has a bearing claw, supported on the front side past the bearingshell from below on the front surface. As an alternative, it issuggested that the bearing arm has a bearing depression reaching intothe vicinity of the bearing shell and extending around at least one ofthe disks partially in a circumferential direction, and at least onebearing claw is axially offset with respect to the bearing depressionand can be moved or pivoted past the adjacent disk from above againstthe bearing surface while pressing the disk against the bearingdepression.

The bearing surface is thereby advantageously defined by forming acircumferential groove laterally on its flanks with the disk on the oneside and the fixed plate on the other side, wherein the base of thegroove can be formed by a coaxial stepped shoulder, preferably connectedin one piece to the disk.

In order to be able to remove the half-loom beams in pairs it issuggested, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, thatone of the bearing arms, preferably a center bearing arm, has twobearing claws arranged spaced with respect to each other at least at thedistance of the width of the bearing shell or of the two bearing disksfrom one another. The bearing claws can be supported on the bearingsurfaces of the two half-loom beams, and can preferably be guided into acircumferential groove provided there. Thus, the bearing claws arearranged forklike on the center bearing arm, so that during theinserting and removing operation, they can grip over a relatively flatlydesigned bearing bracket containing the bearing shell on its broad sidesup to the bearing shell.

The two bearing claws are rigidly arranged, preferably on a commoncenter bearing arm. However, it is advantageous in the case of thebearing claws which can be guided from above toward the bearingsurfaces, when the bearing claws project over a common swivel arm hingedto the bearing arm. The bearing claws can hereby be limited pivotallyrelative to the bearing arm by means of a gear element arranged on thebearing arm and which is preferably designed as a crank-driven threadedrod.

It is furthermore possible that the bearing arm has two longitudinallydivided, separately movable bearing-arm halves coupled with one anothereach of which has one of the bearing claws. The bearing-arm halves canbe arranged on one common lifting shaft, wherein at least one of the twobearing-arm halves can be coupled to or uncoupled from the lifting shaftindependently of the other one. However, it is also possible to providetwo separately operable lifting shafts on the lifting and transportingdevice, each carrying one of the bearing-arm halves, and which beingselectively couplable with one another. The two bearing-arm halves arerigidly coupled with the associated outer bearing arms by the liftingshaft or lifting shafts. This measure makes it possible to receive thehalf-loom beams individually, for example, from the floor and to insertthem individually or together into the loom-beam bearing of the weavingmachine. Furthermore, this permits the insertion of half-loom beams withcarried warp threads in pairs.

In order to guarantee a contact-free guiding of the half-loom beams inthe center bearing, it is suggested according to an advantageousembodiment of the invention that each of the lateral faces of thestationary part of the bearing shell be equipped outside of thecircumferential area of the bearing claws with one guide bar whichpreferably vertically aligned and which engage in the circumferentialgroove of the inserted half-loom beams.

The width of the bearing shell is at least equal to, preferablyapproximately twice, the width of the individual disks. Advantageously,the claws have a concave inner curvature corresponding with the convexcurvature of the bearing surface. In order to enable an adaption todifferent dimensions of the half-loom beams, bearing claws withdifferent inner curvature are arranged interchangeably on the bearingarm.

An alternative embodiment of the invention provides that the diskspartially project, preferably by approximately half of their wallthickness, laterally over the bearing shell and form the bearingsurfaces of the bearing claws at their projecting circumferential parts.The disks can form or carry on their circumference, a stepped ringoverlapping and partially guiding the side flanks of the bearing shell.One of the ring steps on its circumference the bearing surface for thebearing claw. The one of rings projects over the bearing shell andoverlaps over the adjacent side flank.

In order to permit a low friction bearing of the half-loom beams on thebearing shell and on the bearing claws, the disks can be provided with aball-bearing supported circumferential ring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail hereinafter inconnection with some embodiments schematically illustrated in thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a half-loom beam lifting and transportingcarriage in an insertion position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view fragment of the center bearing arm ofthe loom-beam lifting and transporting carriage in an inserted position;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative fragment of the center bearing arm of theloom-beam lifting and transporting carriage and of the center bearing ofthe weaving machine;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a loom-beam lifting and transporting carriagewith a divided center bearing arm during the individual receiving ofhalf-loom beams;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the loom-beam lifting and transporting carriageaccording to FIG. 4 with the center bearing arm divided in two;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a half-loom beam lifting and transportingcarriage with the center bearing arm divided in two and with a dividedlifting shaft;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a loom-beam lifting and transportingcarriage for individual half-loom beams in an inserted position;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative fragment of the center bearing arm of aloom-beam lifting and transporting carriage and of a center bearing ofthe weaving machine provided with support rollers;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the center bearing of FIG. 8 in thearea of the lower support rollers with mounted half-loom beams;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the center bearing correspondingwith FIG. 9 for a modified embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view corresponding with FIGS. 9 and 10 fora further modified embodiment;

FIGS. 12a and b are a side view fragment and a top view fragment of amodified embodiment of a center bearing arm of the loom-beam lifting andtransporting carriage in an inserted position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The loom-beam lifting and transporting carriages 10 illustrated in thedrawings are intended for inserting or removing in pairs (FIGS. 1 to 6,8 to 12) or individually (FIG. 7) half-loom beams carrying, ifnecessary, continuous warp threads into or out of a weaving machine 12.

The respective loom-beam lifting and transporting carriages consist forthis purpose of an undercarriage 14 with steerable and partially drivenwheels 16, a lifting shaft 18 and outer bearing arms 20 with catchers22, which bearing arms are longitudinally movable on said lifting shaft,and a center bearing arm 24 with bearing claws 26. The half-loom beams27 have a loom-beam tube 30 provided with an external thread 28, a looseloom-beam plate 32 running and fixable on the thread 28 of the loom-beamtube 30, and a fixed plate 34 rigidly arranged on the opposite front endof the loom-beam tube 30. A disk 36 with a steplike shoulder 38 iscoaxially arranged on the outside of the fixed plate 34, thus forming acircumferential groove 40 defined at its flanks by the fixed plate 34and the disk 36.

The half-loom beams 27 are supported on the weaving machine 10 by meansof cotter pins 42 in the outer bearings 44 and with their disks 36 in abearing shell 48, which is open at its edge and can be closed off bymeans of a swingable bearing lid 46. The bearing shell 48 is positionedon a platelike machine-fixed bracket 50 supported on the floor with anelevationally adjustable support 52. A bearing slope 54 ends in the sideof the bearing shell 48, which side is open at the edge.

Two approximately vertically aligned guide bars 56 are arranged on thebracket 50 on the back side of the bearing shell 48 opposite the edgeopening, which guide bars grip laterally partially over the bearingshell 48 in such a manner that they engage its circumferential grooves40, creating an axial form locking means when the half-loom beams 27 areinserted. The guide bars 56 are placed such that the bearing claws 26 ofthe center bearing arm 24 do not collide with said guide bars during theloom-beam exchange (compare FIG. 2).

The disks 36 of the two half-loom beams 27 face one another in pairs,and are, in the embodiments according to FIGS. 10 and 11, wider in theirentirety than the bearing shell 48 of the machine-fixed bracket 50 sothat a space for engagement by the bearing claws 26 remains in the areabetween the side flanks 60 of the bearing shell 48 and the adjacentfixed plates 34. In order to enable a low friction rotation of thehalf-loom beams 27 in the bearing shell 48 and on the bearing claws 26,the disks 36 are in these embodiments provided with ball-bearingcircumferential rings 62. The disks 36 additionally have, in theembodiment according to FIG. 11, on their circumference a stepped ring64. The annular step 66 projects over the bearing shell 48, grips overthe side flanks 60 of the bearing shell 48 forming a lateral guide, andforms on its circumference the support surface for the bearing claws 26.

The bracket 50 has, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, two rollerpairs 49 in the horizontal and vertical area of the bearing shell 48.The adjacent disks 36 of the half-loom beams 27 are supported on thepairs in such a manner that a space for engagement by the bearing claws26 remains between the bearing-shell edge and the steplike shoulder 38.The guide bars 56 for engaging the circumferential grooves 40 are formedby the vertical flanks of the bracket 50. A closing lever hinged to thebracket 50 and swingable with a closing roller pair 51 against thecircumference of the disks 36 is provided as the bearing lid 46.

The bearing claws 26 are, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3,rigidly arranged on a common one-piece center bearing arm 24 which isarranged together with the outer bearing arms 20 on a common squarelifting shaft 18. This arrangement is particularly suited for insertingand removing the half-loom beams 27 in pairs. The half-loom beams 27 arefor this purpose gripped together on the side of their respective disks36 by the bearing claws 26 of the center bearing arm 24. The bearingclaws 26 engage, with their concavely curved part, the circumferentialgrooves 40 from below and contact the groove base 38. Therein the disks36 are positioned in the open space between the two bearing claws 26. Inaddition, the catchers 22 on the bearing arms 20 grip under thehalf-loom beams 27 on the parts of the loom-beam tubes 30 which projectbeyond the loom-beam plates 32.

To insert the half-loom beams 27 into the weaving machine, the loom-beamlifting and transporting carriage 10 is placed in the warp course andpositioned to the front of the weaving machine until the bearing arms20, 24 with their catchers 22 and bearing claws 26, together with thehalf-loom beams 27 provided thereon, are in a bearing position. The twospaced-apart bearing claws 26 grip in this position laterally over thebearing bracket 50 in the area of the bearing shell 48, as this can beseen in FIG. 2 for example. It is possible in this manner to place thedisks 36 of the half-loom beams 27 directly in the bearing shell withouta collision occurring between the bearing claws 26 and the bracket 50.An automatic tolerance compensation during the inserting operation canoccur to a certain degree through suitable slopes on the area of thebearing claws 26 and/or on the bracket 50. After the half-loom beams 27are also secured in the area of the outer bearings 44 with the help ofthe cotter pins 42, the bearing arms 20, 24 can be lowered by thelifting shaft 18, and the loom-beam lifting carriage 10 can be moved outof its loading position.

The half-loom beams are removed in reversed sequence by first moving theloom-beam lifting carriage 10 with lowered bearing arms 20, 24 into theremoving position, by then lifting the bearing arms 20, 24 with theircatchers 22 and their bearing claws 26 to rest against the projectingtube parts 30 and the groove base 38, by removing the cotter pins 42 andby moving the loom-beam lifting carriage 10 together with the half-loombeams 27 lifted out of the bearing points 48, 44 from the bearing areaof the weaving machine.

The center bearing arm 24 is, in the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4to 6, longitudinally divided into two bearing-arm halves 24', 24", eachcarrying one of the two bearing claws 26', 26". The bearing-arm halves24', 24" can each be operated together with the adjacent outer bearingarm 20 so that the half-loom beams 27 can be received individually bythe base or by a frame (compare FIGS. 4 and 5). The bearing-arm halves24', 24" can on the other hand be coupled with one another by suitablecoupling members 58 so that an inserting and removing of the half-loombeams 27 in pairs into the weaving machine or out of this weavingmachine is possible. The bearing-arm halves 24', 24" can be operatedseparately either in such a manner that the bearing-arm halves and theassociated outer bearing arms 20 can be coupled separately from oneanother with the common lifting shaft 18 or can be uncoupled therefrom(FIGS. 4 and 5). On the other hand, it is possible to arrange thebearing-arm halves 24', 24" on separate lifting-shaft parts 18', 18"(FIG. 6), which can be selectively coupled with one another and of whichone or both can be driven.

The loom-beam lifting and transporting carriage 10 has, in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, only two lateral bearing arms 124designated to receive a half-loom beam 27. The bearing arms 124 have abearing claw 126, which is designed to be so narrow that it can beintroduced from below into the circumferential groove of one or theother half-loom beam 27. With this it is assured that a single loom-beamlifting carriage can be utilized for the left and also for the righthalf-loom beam 27.

The center bearing arm 24 of the loom-beam lifting and transportingcarriage has, in the embodiment according to FIGS. 12a and b, afront-side depression 70 with a curvature adapted to the circumferentialcurvature of the disks 36, which depression partly grips around thedisks in the inserting and removing position. A swivel arm 72 isfurthermore hinged to a joint 74 in the upper front-side area of thecenter bearing arm 24 and can be pivoted about the axis 74 by means of athreaded rod 78 rotatable by a crank 76. Two bearing claws 26 arrangedat a lateral distance from one another project on the front side overthe swivel arm 72, the claws during pivoting of the swivel arm 72 engagethe circumferential groove 40 between the adjacent disks 36 and thefixed plates 34. In this manner they produce a holding force 84 on theoppositely lying holding surfaces 80, 82 enabling an inserting andremoving of the half-loom beams in pairs into and out of theweaving-machine bearing 48. The guide bar 56 which in the inserted statealso engages the circumferential groove 40, does not represent anobstacle for the center bearing arm 24.

In summary the following is to be stated: The invention relates to anarrangement for inserting and removing half-loom beams into or out of aloom-beam bearing of a weaving machine including a loom-beam lifting andtransporting carriage 10 having at least two bearing arms 20, 24. Inorder to be able to simply and smoothly insert and remove bothindividually and also in pairs the half-loom beams 27 into and out ofthe loom-beam bearing of the weaving machine, it is suggested accordingto the invention that a circumferential groove 40 be arranged in an areaof the half-loom beams projecting axially over a center bearing shellwhen the half-loom beams 27 are inserted, and that the loom-beam liftingcarriage 10 has a center bearing arm 24 having two spaced-apart bearingclaws 26, which can be guided past the bearing shell 48 from below intothe circumferential grooves 40 up to the base of the groove 38.

I claim:
 1. In combination with half-loom beams supported by a loom beambearing, an arrangement for inserting and removing of half-loom beamsindividually or in pairs into or from said loom-beam bearing of aweaving machine, comprising: a loom beam lifting and transportingcarriage having at least two bearing arms, wherein said half-loom beamshave at one end a fixed plate and a disk which is axially spaced from anouter facing side of said fixed plate and which is rigidly connected tosaid fixed plate, said loom-beam bearing having a first bearing surfaceand receiving therein a pair of said disks of two adjacent saidhalf-loom beams, wherein each of said pair of said disks of the two ofsaid half-loom beams has end surfaces which face and oppose one another,access to said first bearing surface being closed off in a firstposition of a pivotable bearing lid and being accessible radiallylaterally and/or from above through an edge opening for said half-loombeams when said half-loom beams are positioned on the bearing arms andwhen said lid is in a second position, wherein a second bearing surfaceis provided on and is coaxial with respect to each said disk and isarranged in an area between each said disk and said fixed plate on saidhalf-loom beams, said second surface area extending axially to saidfirst bearing surface when said half-loom beams are inserted in saidloom beam bearing, and wherein at least one of said bearing arms has atleast one bearing claw which is positioned on a distal end thereof, saidat least one bearing claw extending coextensively with said firstbearing surface and effecting a support from below of said secondbearing surface.
 2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein one ofsaid bearing arms has two bearing claws spaced from one another at adistance corresponding to a width of said first bearing surface and saidpair of said disks, said bearing claws each having surface means thereonadapted to support said second bearing surfaces of said two half-loombeams and to be each received into a circumferential groove providedbetween each said disk and said fixed plate.
 3. The combinationaccording to claim 1, wherein said at least one bearing claw is rigidlyarranged on a bearing arm common to both half-loom beams.
 4. Thecombination according to claim 3, wherein said bearing arm common toboth half-loom beams has two longitudinally divided, separately movablebearing-arm halves which are adapted to be coupled to each other, eachhaving thereon one of said bearing claws.
 5. The combination accordingto claim 4, wherein said bearing-arm halves are arranged on a commonlifting shaft, at least one of said bearing-arms halves being adapted tobe coupled to and uncoupled from said lifting shaft.
 6. The combinationaccording to claim 4, further comprising two separately operable liftingshafts, each of which carries one of said bearing-arm halves thereon. 7.The combination according to claim 1, wherein said second bearingsurface is delimited laterally by said disk and said fixed plate andforming a circumferential groove therebetween, and wherein said at leastone bearing claw is adapted to be inserted into said circumferentialgroove up to a base of said groove.
 8. The combination according toclaim 7, wherein said first bearing surface is formed on a machinebracket, wherein lateral faces of said machine bracket are each fittedwith a guide bar which is received in a corresponding one of saidcircumferential grooves of said half-loom beams when said half-loombeams are inserted into said arrangement.
 9. The combination accordingto claim 8, wherein said the guide bars extend vertically on saidmachine bracket.
 10. The combination according to claim 1, wherein saidsecond bearing surface is formed by a circumference of a steppedshoulder which is coaxial to said disk and is connected to said disk toform a single part.
 11. The combination according to claim 1, whereinsaid at least one bearing claw has a concave inner curvaturecorresponding to a convex curvature of said second bearing surface. 12.The combination according to claim 11, wherein a plurality of bearingclaws each having different inner curvatures are arrangedinterchangeably on said bearing arm that is common to both of saidhalf-loom beams.
 13. The combination according to claim 10, wherein saiddisks and said stepped shoulders form a stepped ring which partiallyoverlaps said first bearing surface along side flanks thereof.
 14. Thecombination according to claim 1, wherein said disks carry aball-bearing supported circumferential ring.
 15. In combination withhalf-loom beams supported by a loom beam bearing, an arrangement forinserting and removing of half-loom beams individually or in pairs intoor from said loom-beam bearing of a weaving machine, comprising: a loombeam lifting and transporting carriage having at least two bearing arms,wherein said half-loom beams have at one end a fixed plate and a diskwhich is axially spaced from an outer facing side of said fixed plateand which is rigidly connected to said fixed plate, said loom-beambearing having a first bearing surface receiving therein a pair of saiddisks of two adjacent said half-loom beams, wherein each of said pair ofdisks has end surfaces which face and oppose one another, and access tosaid first bearing surface being closed off in a first position of apivotable bearing lid and being accessible radially laterally and/orfrom above through an edge opening for said half-loom beams when saidhalf loom beams are positioned on the bearing arms and when said lid isin a second position, wherein a second bearing surface is provided onand is coaxial with respect to each said disk and is arranged in an areabetween each said disk and said fixed plate on said half-loom beams,said area extending coaxially to said first bearing surface when saidhalf-loom beams are inserted in said loom beam bearing, and wherein oneof said bearing arms has a third bearing surface, which partiallyencompasses an outer surface at least one of said disks in acircumferential direction, and at least one bearing claw which isaxially offset with respect to said third bearing surface and which isadapted to be pivoted to a position along side of said adjacent disk andinto engagement with said second bearing surface to press said diskagainst said third bearing surface.
 16. The combination according toclaim 15, wherein said at least one bearing claw projects from a distalside of a common swivel arm which is pivotally connected to said bearingarm.
 17. The combination according to claim 16, wherein said at leastone bearing claw is adapted to be pivoted on said bearing arm by meansof an actuator arranged on said bearing arm, said actuator being acrank-driven threaded rod.
 18. The combination according to claim 15,wherein said second bearing surface is delimited laterally by said diskand said fixed plate and forming a circumferential groove therebetween,and wherein said at least one bearing claw is adapted to be insertedinto said circumferential groove up to a base of said groove.
 19. Thecombination according to claim 18, wherein said first bearing surface isformed on a machine bracket, wherein lateral faces of said machinebracket are each fitted with a guide bar which is received in acorresponding one of said circumferential grooves of said half-loombeams when said half-loom beams are inserted into said combination. 20.The combination according to claim 19, wherein said guide bars extendvertically on said machine bracket.
 21. The combination according toclaim 15, wherein said second bearing surface is formed by acircumference of a stepped shoulder which is coaxial to said disk and isconnected to said disk to form a single part.
 22. The combinationaccording to claim 21, wherein said disks and said stepped shouldersform a stepped ring which partially overlaps said second first bearingsurface along side flanks thereof.
 23. The combination according toclaim 15, wherein said bearing claw has a concave inner curvaturecorresponding to a convex curvature of said second bearing surface. 24.The combination according to claim 22, wherein a plurality of saidbearing claws each having different inner curvatures are arrangedinterchangeably on said bearing arm that is common to both of saidhalf-loom beams.
 25. The combination according to claim 2, wherein saiddisks carry a ball-bearing supported circumferential ring.